The leaders of the Pacific islands meet with climate change, the safety on the agenda | News

The leaders of the Pacific Island have initiated their annual summit in the Solomon Islands, with the climate change and the security that the center of the stage is expected to occupy in the midst of the battle for the influence in the region between China and the United States.

The one -week meeting began in Honiara on Monday with a meeting of the small island states of the group.

The forum leaders of 18 members, including Australia and New Zealand, will go to Munda's coastal settlement for a retirement on Thursday.

In particular, this year's summit will take place without the two dozen donor partners of the forum, including China, the United States and Taiwan, after a dispute over Taipei's assistance caused the Solomon Islands to prohibit those observers.

Among the 18 members of the forum, three have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, three have a defense pact with the United States, and several are French territories. Thirteen members have ties with China.

Divavesi Waqa, the general secretary of the Pacific Islands forum, said that this year's meeting will cover “regional priorities”, including “climate change, oceanic governance, security, security, [and] Economic resilience ”.

“These are not just policy issues. They are lived realities for our people,” Waqa told journalists on Sunday.

The Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, Jeremiah Manele, who welcomed the leaders of the neighboring countries to Honiara, said that the issue of the “Lumi Tuneda: acts now acts for an integrated continent of the Blue Pacific” reflected the “urgency for regional unity and action.”

“If there was ever a moment that Pacific regionalism and collective action demanded, now it is now,” said Handle, according to a statement.

The leader of the Solomon Islands, who has tried to strengthen relations with Australia after Western criticism about the close links of his predecessor with China, has previously defended his decision to prohibit foreign observers.

Handle told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) last month that the decision was temporary, while the forum updates its procedures for non -member participation.

“The Pacific region must always lead, conduct and possess its own agenda and not be distracted by the divisive problems driven by external media,” Manele said, in apparent reference to the reports that the decision was related to the decision not to include Taiwan at this year's meeting.

“We are not under pressure from any external force,” he said.

“Let me be very clear: the Solomon Islands is a sovereign nation. Our government acts in the best interest of our nation and the region.”

In this year's forum, the leaders of the Pacific islands are expected to sign the declaration of the “La Paz Ocean” proposed by the Fiji, that the country's prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, said that the Pacific region has “supported catastrophic calamities caused by climate change”, as well as “their rich resources exploited by many.”

The proposal includes guiding principles, which include “protecting and recognizing the administration of the Pacific Environment”, as well as the “peaceful resolution of disputes” and the “rejection of coercion,” he said.

According to ABC, Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will arrive in Honiara on Wednesday after visiting Vanuatu, where he is expected to sign a historical pact to strengthen economic and security ties.

Vanuatu recently directed an important case before the International Court of Justice, which saw the rule of the main court of the United Nations that states must act urgently to address the “existential threat” of climate change by cooperating to reduce emissions.

Australia's offer to organize the COP31 climate change meeting next year, as a Pacific Police, will be on the agenda in Honiara, amid the criticism of the Canberra Mixed Registry to reduce their own emissions and exports of fossil fuels.

Australia has previously committed to work in close collaboration with its neighbors of the island to raise awareness about the challenges that face sea level and worsening storms.

The 18 members of the forum are Australia, the Cook Islands, the federated states of Micronesia, Fiji, Polynesia French, Kiribati, Nauru, Nueva Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.